LENS 3-King of Shadows Purpose: To reiterate to my group the importance of our discussion and to bring closure to the topics discussed. Engagement: To show appreciation of my group member's opinions and comments throughout our discussion. Genre:Letter to my Group
Dear Group Members, I really enjoyed the way in which we discussed the book the King of Shadows written by Susan Cooper. I firmly believe in the power of discussion and as a group, we accomplished a very good talk about the symbolism found in this book as well as the answers to the questions I posed for us as the discussion director. Literature circles have proven to be efficient in our analysis of issues, solving problems, and identifying plots in the story that would otherwise be skimmed over without elaboration. I posed the question, “What do you think the purpose of the adult response to Nat’s dream meant?” The way in which the adults reacted to Nat’s “dream” was ultimately to reinforce positively his experiences and to be sensitive to the situation. I like how we could all agree that in a similar situation with a child, it is in his or her best interest to go along with what they are telling us and although it may not be rational, applaud the experience and show interest in the events that “took place” given the circumstances. We also each brought in an outside experience related to telling an adult about something and the adult agreeing even though now that we look back on it, was completely illogical. Next, I asked, “Do you think that Nat’s dream during his illness stands for/represents a parallel to a real child’s life in which he or she needs to escape?” We elaborated upon this idea and successfully identified the possibility that Nat’s dream could very well be a point for a child to relate while reading the book. This dream relaying a message that life is tough and it’s ok to take a break and express emotion through imagination. Taking time to take a deep breath and go to your happy place. Expression is crucial in life for individuals of all ages and this dream is a prime example of a healthy form of expression with the use of your imagination. Lastly, we discussed the importance of self-reflection and how important it is to “escape” reality every once and a while. I commented on how I like to listen to music all the time as a center and as a relaxation technique. In the story, Nat could very well have been escaping his past and trying to get as far away from it as possible by dreaming up his own world. As human beings, we all utilize on occasion, the power of forgetting things; things that are painful, things that are bad, and things that make us sad. Despite this process of forgetting hurtful things, we also tend to not want to talk about it or take necessary actions in repairing the issue. We elaborated on the idea that perhaps Nat had some real issues he didn’t want to endure the analysis of them and decided to escape to a new place where he was in control and happy. Ultimately, group, we had a great discussion about this book and I really appreciated everyone’s feedback to my questions. This is my first experience with literature circles and I would definitely invite more of my peers to discuss more literature. Thanks! Sincerely, Jon Reinaker
LENS 3-King of Shadows
Purpose: To reiterate to my group the importance of our discussion and to bring closure to the topics discussed.
Engagement: To show appreciation of my group member's opinions and comments throughout our discussion.
Genre:Letter to my Group
Dear Group Members,
I really enjoyed the way in which we discussed the book the King of Shadows written by Susan Cooper. I firmly believe in the power of discussion and as a group, we accomplished a very good talk about the symbolism found in this book as well as the answers to the questions I posed for us as the discussion director. Literature circles have proven to be efficient in our analysis of issues, solving problems, and identifying plots in the story that would otherwise be skimmed over without elaboration. I posed the question, “What do you think the purpose of the adult response to Nat’s dream meant?” The way in which the adults reacted to Nat’s “dream” was ultimately to reinforce positively his experiences and to be sensitive to the situation. I like how we could all agree that in a similar situation with a child, it is in his or her best interest to go along with what they are telling us and although it may not be rational, applaud the experience and show interest in the events that “took place” given the circumstances. We also each brought in an outside experience related to telling an adult about something and the adult agreeing even though now that we look back on it, was completely illogical.
Next, I asked, “Do you think that Nat’s dream during his illness stands for/represents a parallel to a real child’s life in which he or she needs to escape?” We elaborated upon this idea and successfully identified the possibility that Nat’s dream could very well be a point for a child to relate while reading the book. This dream relaying a message that life is tough and it’s ok to take a break and express emotion through imagination. Taking time to take a deep breath and go to your happy place. Expression is crucial in life for individuals of all ages and this dream is a prime example of a healthy form of expression with the use of your imagination.
Lastly, we discussed the importance of self-reflection and how important it is to “escape” reality every once and a while. I commented on how I like to listen to music all the time as a center and as a relaxation technique. In the story, Nat could very well have been escaping his past and trying to get as far away from it as possible by dreaming up his own world. As human beings, we all utilize on occasion, the power of forgetting things; things that are painful, things that are bad, and things that make us sad. Despite this process of forgetting hurtful things, we also tend to not want to talk about it or take necessary actions in repairing the issue. We elaborated on the idea that perhaps Nat had some real issues he didn’t want to endure the analysis of them and decided to escape to a new place where he was in control and happy. Ultimately, group, we had a great discussion about this book and I really appreciated everyone’s feedback to my questions. This is my first experience with literature circles and I would definitely invite more of my peers to discuss more literature. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Jon Reinaker